As a parent, you’ve got plenty to worry about, and of course, you have plenty of responsibilities. You’ve got a lot on your plate by default and depending on your circumstances, that could be a lot more than usual, but in normal circumstances – the plate of parenting is going to always be pretty heavy and full. You’ve got to look after your kids, tend to their needs and support the family – either by working or doing key tasks that need to be done regardless of whether you’re a stay at home parent or not.

One of those responsibilities is the fiscal stability and safety of both yourself and your family. Not much can be done without money, and if you don’t have money your ability to care for your family is limited, of course, it is. You can’t pay for a roof over your heads, and you can’t put much food in your bellies without cash. During trying times, there are ways we can get cash quickly via loans and credit cards – but through misuse, which is easy to do, you can rack up debt very easily, which can mean that these emergency tactics are very much one use only, especially if you can’t pay it off and especially so if you end up with a bad credit rating.

In financial terms, your credit rating is your ability for opportunity. If you’ve got a low credit rating, your ability to do things with your cash will suffer. For instance – you might be turned down for finance plans. That might mean not being able to get a car, but it could also mean you won’t be allowed to have a new mobile phone contract. In fact, it could mean that you are turned down for a mortgage – which could be devastating news if you’re looking to move into permanent digs with your family. You build up a bad credit rating via not paying your debts off reliably – and the consequences can be awful, especially for families.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Unless you declare bankruptcy in severe circumstances of debt, you can always build yourself back up. Of course, this can happen after bankruptcy, but it could take a lot longer.

How do you do this? Well – you can get a good credit rating back by meeting your payments. In the first instance, you need to pay off your debts as fast as you can, and regardless of what you might think, this can be done. Simply, you need to spend less and devote more money to your debts. Call your creditors and see if you can negotiate – every creditor should opt for a negotiated payment rather than the possibility of losing out on your cash altogether, which can happen. You should understand that you can build your credit back up and even with bad credit you have access to an adverse credit direct lender. You’ll just have to look around harder.